April Drabbles
by Satu-D-2
Summary: Based on the lovely prompts gathered and lovingly given to us by the ever delightful and always wonderful Deejaymil for r/FanFiction's April lot of Pint Sized Prompts. A series of drabbles around our favourite triclops and telepath BroTP.
1. Beginning

This will be a series of 'unrelated' (meaning they feature the same characters but do not in and of themselves tell a coherent story) drabbles, I hope you enjoy :)

April 1st: Snapshot Saturday – Beginning – Image Prompt (a train beside a lake, see the r/fanfiction prompt thread for the actual picture :) )

* * *

The lake was huge and deep and almost impossibly blue. The sun gleamed on the vast expanse, a stripe of liquid gold that gently rolled and peaked with the water. A grey stone cliff stretched up from a beach of crumbled boulders, lined by pine trees that swayed and pointed green needles at a blue sky that was dotted with white fluffy clouds. A bright red train slowly crawling across its flat expanse, rocking and coasting on gleaming metal tracks.

Inside the rearmost carriage a small boy had his face pressed up against the window. Beside him, his companion sat silently, his head leaned back, his arms tightly crossed and his three eyes closed.

"It's beautiful," Chiaotzu murmured, his eyes wide and the golden glow of the sun's reflection lighting up his face. "Tien, we should take the train more often." Tien nodded, grimaced, squeezed his eyes shut tighter. Chiaotzu didn't see the movement, but a wave of discomfort washed over him, alerted his sensitive telepathic mind, and he glanced over his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yep."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep."

The train curved around a slight bend in the cliff-face. The gentle rocking increased and Tien's head rocked with it. The colour drained out of his cheeks, leaving his skin an odd shade of grey. A slight smile, barely noticeable, and a small white hand stretching out.

"Look out the window with me, Tien. You'll feel better."

Tien shifted, opened his eyes a fraction. Seeing the smile that was barely a smile, he turned his head and looked out the window. Three eyes fixed on a distant horizon. The churning of his stomach settled. The odd pallor fled his face. Their hands linked and they watched the scenery go by together.

They should really take the train more often.


	2. Oops

April 2nd: Scenic Sunday – Oops – The red pooling on the carpet could spell the beginning of the end for your character's sanity.

* * *

"We've got to go."

Chiaotzu stared blankly at the floor. Carpet so dark it looked black. The pool of blood was almost invisible. Deep red, the flickering reflections of the fire dancing across its surface the only thing that gave it away.

"Chiaotzu, snap out of it."

Tien's hand on his arm. Gripping hard enough to hurt. To bruise. Not enough to bring him back to himself. His eyes shone with tears as he looked up at Tien.

"I didn't mean to," he said. His voice seemed to come from a great distance, calm and surprisingly level.

Tien's eyes were hard. Glinting in the firelight. When he glanced at the body lying motionless on the carpet his face twisted with hatred. In contrast his grip loosened, became gentle, comforting.

"He was going to kill you if you didn't."

This did break through Chiaotzu's shock and he started to sob into his hands, huge ugly gasps that tore from his chest. Tien pulled him up by the arm, cradled him close. Turned his small face away from the sight of that vicious snarl, of the firelight reflected in familiar dark glasses.

There was so much blood.

"It's okay, Chiaotzu," Tien murmured. His voice was a deep rumble that smoothed the rough edges of Chiaotzu's mind. His hand cupped the side of the telepath's head. Protection. Comfort. Reassurance. The hatred in his eyes, now the face of his brother was hidden, blazed bright as he stared down at the body.

Shen had come for them. He'd crept into their farm in the dead of night, found them sleeping and vulnerable. Chiaotzu had woken first. His mind had caught the rush of rage that had filled their former master, the loathing, and had barely managed to throw up his hands to form a shield around them when the first Dodon ray had flashed in the darkness.

Tien had woken to the Crane Hermit's furious scream. It had caught on his mind, sending him back to his childhood and the fear he'd survived through. He had shot upright just in time to see a shining blue blade of crackling psychic energy slice through Shen's throat, silencing him in one swift movement.

As the fire of his Dodonpa smouldered and caught on the curtains, sheets, carpet, Master Shen tried to hold his throat together and collapsed onto the floor.

Tien resisted the urge to spit on the body. Holding Chiaotzu's trembling body close to his chest, he turned and strode from the room. From their home. From the quiet, safe life they had tried to build.

Safe. What a joke.

"I didn't mean to," Chiaotzu whimpered against his chest.

Tien murmured a comfort that wasn't made of words. His mind encircled Chiaotzu's, a soothing telepathic embrace. He could feel the edges of Chiaotzu's mind starting to unravel, tendrils of psychic energy trembling loose, but Tien didn't let that happen. He would never let that happen. He would always be here to hold the boy together.


	3. J M Barrie

April 3rd: Maxim Monday – J. M. Barrie – "Ghosts were created when the first man woke in the night."

* * *

Tien kept his gaze fixed out of the window. Watching clouds drift slowly by the moon. Watching the valley in its tranquil stillness. Looking out for any disturbance, for any sign of an intruder. The slightest movement drew his attention, his eyes narrowing as he evaluated and then dismissed each shadow.

"There's no one there, Chiaotzu," he said eventually. Chiaotzu peeked out from beneath his arm, his eyes wide and frightened.

"I saw him," Chiaotzu insisted, gesturing again with a shaking hand. "He was just by that ridge! Please, Tien, I'm not crazy."

"I never said you were," Tien said soothingly. He searched the ridge again. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting strong silver light over the valley, throwing sharp shadows. There was definitely no one there.

Chiaotzu saw this on his face. Could read him like a book. The realisation that there wasn't anyone there, that whatever he had seen had been inside his own mind, shook him to his core. His eyes filled with tears as he looked up at Tien.

"I… I _saw_ him," he said, but his voice wasn't insistent. It was vague and lost. Tien winced at the sound of it. "Tien, I…"

"Shh." Tien hugged Chiaotzu tight, closing his eyes against the empty landscape outside. "It's fine, you're fine, we're okay. There's no one there now, but if you saw someone I'm sure there was _something_ there."

"Maybe it was a ghost," Chiaotzu said numbly. The words sent a chill up Tien's spine. After what they'd done, what their master had made them do, the thought of vengeful spirits was a particularly horrible one. The idea of seeing a familiar hateful face was not one he wanted to think about.

"Ghosts don't exist," he said, his tone harsher than he'd meant it to be. Chiaotzu didn't flinch, just leaned in and looked out the window. Trying to find the shape, the shadow, the presence he had seen on waking. Tien sighed and turned the boy's face away from the window, forcing their eyes to meet. "Trust me, Chiaotzu, there's no one there. You know nothing can fool my eyes."

Chiaotzu nodded. "I suppose you're right, Tien… Thank you…"

"You're welcome. Go back to sleep." But as he moved back towards his own bed he cast an uneasy look outside the window and felt that same chill trace his back. Ghosts weren't real...right?


End file.
